1. American History II - Unit 5
World War II
American History II - Unit 5

2. 5.6 – WWII AMERICAN HOMEFRONT
5.6 – WWII AMERICAN HOMEFRONT

3. Industry Booms
The WWII economy stopped the Great Depression in its tracks → increased economic opportunities for many Americans
Unemployment as low as 1.2% in 1944
Wages rose 10% during the war
Long hours, overtime, night shifts = more money and more savings (less time to spend) → increased sale of war bonds

4. Farmers Prosper Good weather
Improved farming machinery and fertilizers
Guaranteed price stability allowed for loan repayment or elimination of debt

5. Women Workers 6M women in the workforce in WWII
Defense jobs paid better than traditional women’s jobs
“The war really created opportunities for women. It was the first time we got a chance to show that we could do a lot of things that only men had done before.” – Winona Espinosa, mother, riveter, bus driver

6. Families Marriage boom (marry before deployment)
Women had new roles to fill, along with traditional roles
Child rearing, housekeeping, working, budgeting
Rise of childcare facilities
Teenage delinquency due to lack of supervision
When fathers/husbands returned, a period of painful readjustment.

7. GI Bill 1944 – GI Bill of Rights
Formal name: Servicemen’s Readjustment Act
Help readjust GIs at home
Education and training for veterans
Federal loans to veterans to buy homes or farms

8. Civil Rights Protests
During WWII - mass migration of African Americans to the North, Midwest, and West → new job opportunities
Met with resistance (despite service)
1942 – Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) founded by James Farmer to confront racial segregation → first sit-in in Chicago restaurant

9. Detroit Race Riot Detroit Race Riot 3 days in June 1943
Fueled by rumors that…
whites had murdered a black woman and her child
blacks had killed 17 whites
Mayor and Governor praised police for killing black rioters
9 whites, 25 blacks dead
FDR sent federal troops to calm riot → stayed for 6 months

10. LA Zoot Suit Riot Large Mexican American population in Los Angeles
wore “zoot suits” - long jackets, pleated pants, broad brimmed hats to symbolize rebelling against tradition
Summer 1943 – 11 sailors claimed Mexican American zoot-suiter attacked them
Almost a week of mob attacks on Mexican Americans, stripping them of clothes and beating them senseless

11. Internment of Japanese Americans
Large Japanese American population on the west coast
After Pearl Harbor, Americans feared another Japanese attack → fear of spies and espionage
Starting in 1942 – wave of prejudiced gov’t actions towards Japanese Americans
War Department ordered Hawaii to evacuate all Japanese Americans (37% of the population → General Emmons (military Governor of Hawaii) refused because it would have hurt economy
General Emmons eventually was forced to confine 1,444 Japanese Americans in Hawaii (1%)

12. Internment of Japanese Americans
Panic more severe on the west coast mainland → US military suggested internment to protect “national security”
Feb. 19, 1942 – FDR issued Executive Order 9066
involuntary internment of Japanese Americans in California and parts of Oregon, Washington, and Arizona
Internment – confinement

13. Internment of Japanese Americans
110,000 Japanese Americans sent to “relocation camps” (prison camps)

14. Internment of Japanese Americans
2/3 Nisei (2nd generation Japanese Americans) → American citizens!
Remember… during wartime, personal/individual freedoms and rights are infringed upon
No specific charges filed and no espionage evidence found → violates habeas corpus (cannot be held without charges or evidence)

15. Korematsu vs. US (1944) Background Arguments
Fred Korematsu – Japanese American who refused to leave his home in California in accordance with Exec. Order 9066
Arrested and convicted of violating a military order
ACLU expressed interest in appealing Korematsu’s conviction to test the constitutionality of the Exec. Order
Arguments
Korematsu – Exec. Order 9066 violated the 5th Amendment (due process clause) and the 14th Amendment (equal protection regardless of race), went beyond the military powers of the POTUS
US gov’t – internment was necessary to the war effort and national security, the Constitution protects habeas corpus to an extent in wartime

16. Korematsu v. US (1944) Decision – 6-3 in favor of US gov’t Dissent
Established the “strict scrutiny” test for laws – any law or order that discriminates on the basis of race or ethnicity is constitutional only if its serves an extremely important and compelling purpose for the gov’t
In this case, the protection of national security was paramount and justified the internment of a percentage of the population.
FDR did not overstep his military powers as Commander in Chief
Dissent
Justice Murphy – the exclusion of Japanese “falls into the ugly abyss of racism” and resembles “the abhorrent and despicable treatment of minority groups the dictatorial tyrannies which this nation is now pledged to destroy.”

17. Internment of Japanese Americans
Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) pushed for compensation for those interned
1965 – gov’t paid $38M (less than 1/10 actual losses)
1988 – Reagan signed bill for $20,000 to each remaining internment victim
1990 – “We can never fully right the wrongs of the past. But we can take a clear stand for justice and recognize that serious injustices were done to Japanese Americans during World War II.” – Bush Sr. in letter to victims with checks